NATCHITOCHES—Positivity has always been a strong suit for Northwestern State point guard Mya Blake.

That trait has never been needed more in her family's life than now, as her mother, L'Tia Blake, has been battling breast cancer since last summer.

As Blake and Northwestern State aim for its sixth straight victory Saturday against in-state rival Southeastern Louisiana at 1 p.m. in the annual #ForkCancer game, the California native knows her mom will be with her, despite being more than a thousand miles away from home.

"It's taken a big toll on me," Blake said. "Some days are better than others, but I try to stay positive and keep her up through everything.

With her mother in mind, Blake has put together her best season to date. The senior is averaging 14 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, leading the Demons to an 8-7 record and 5-1 mark in Southland Conference play, their best conference start since 2015-16.

Blake is two weeks removed from a Southland Conference Player of the Week honor after a sweep of in-state rivals McNeese and Nicholls. She followed that up with dropping 15 of her game-high 17 points to lead a come-from-behind victory at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a team the Demons hadn't beaten in 11 games.

Blake and her mother bond over the game of basketball, and the pairing uses the game as a distraction of what L'Tia is battling.

"Some days when I talk to her, I try to distract her from the situation and not talk to her about what's going on but maybe talk to her about basketball because that makes her happy. Obviously, there are days I talk to her about what is going on and things like that, but those aren't the easiest days."

As the younger Blake was preparing to come to Natchitoches from the state of California for her final season of college basketball after transferring from Stanislaus State, the family received difficult news: L'Tia was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer.

But the younger Blake wasn't going to let her mother battle it alone, even if they are several states apart.

"When I first found out she had cancer, I told her if she doesn't go to chemo, I'm done playing basketball," Mya said. "That keeps her going every time she has to go through chemo. I tell her that it is hard for me too, being away from family and going through this and still showing up every day. If I am going through something hard, you can too."

Basketball has been a big part of Mya and L'Tia's life, and it makes their relationship even stronger.

L'Tia has been a big part of Mya's basketball life, even since high school when the younger Blake was aiming for college scholarships, traveling to most of her AAU games.

"My mom means everything. She is a great role model. I am the youngest of the family, so after all my siblings moved out, all I had was my parents, so I got really close to them. My mom and I have a strong bond. She is my mom, but also a friend.

"We had a lot of fun basketball trips. We went everywhere together. They went to all my games during AAU until high school when I started traveling even further out of state."

After high school, she played two seasons at San Francisco State earning a pair of CCAA All-Conference selections, second-team in 2022-23 and honorable mention in 2021-22 and led her team in scoring both seasons, averaging 11.0 points in her first year and 13.7 in her second.

"I use the anger at this sport," Mya said. "Basketball is my outlet. Basketball helps me forget about everything for a bit. And it also keeps her happy."

Despite the cancer diagnosis, Mya remains positive and L'Tia and always keeps her mother focused and doing what is needed, even if L'Tia doesn't have the energy or is not feeling like herself.

"In the days following chemo when she is more nauseous and doesn't want to eat and not getting enough fluids, I will call her and be on the phone with her for a long time and make sure she is drinking water and stuff like that," Mya said. "Even though it might be hard for me, me staying positive and smiling on the phone and not showing the pain it's bringing me is keeping her positive and making her want to be better. Positivity is important."

All that positivity is paying off, as L'Tia is headed in the right direction, as doctors have told her they believe chemo is working and she is headed in the right direction.

Even with that, Mya is there as more than a daughter, but a coach, pushing her to the finish line, even if her mother is not excited about going to chemo.

"It keeps me positive knowing that while she has it, the chemo is working," Mya said. "It keeps me pushing through everything and it helps me keeping her positive. With the doctor telling her it's getting better and they think the chemo is working, I just have to tell her to keep pushing because she hates going to chemo. Me telling her to keep going, it's obviously doing something for her."

As Mya leads her squad into the meat of the conference schedule, she draws strength from her mother's battle. And she knows she has her No. 1 fan back in California watching every game, seeing her become one of the top point guards in the conference.

Even being in Natchitoches, she has one piece of California in her in the form of her mother.

"I love you, mom. Stay positive. Stay strong.